World burping record holder Neville Sharp was starting to worry he'd never have enough food to burp again.
Neville and Karen Sharp were forced into isolation with COVID-19 just as Northern Territory shop shelves were stripped bare.
All they had to eat was whatever was in the larder until they recovered.
The neighbours offered to shop for them but came back empty-handed.
Karen tried to do an online order of 25 items. A can of pineapple chunks was the only item the shop could send them.
"It's pretty disgraceful what was happening on the supermarket shelves and the government doing nothing to fix it," Neville said.
Flooding washed out the main road and rail links to the NT in late January, interrupting food deliveries for the best part of a week.
The Stuart Highway remains closed north of Glendambo in South Australia's far north, forcing road trains heading to the Territory to take a huge detour through NSW and Queensland.
South Australian Freight Council's executive officer Evan Knapp said the situation had been a "wake-up call".
He said the crisis had forced governments to pay attention.
Australian Rail Track Corporation says it will be the middle of February before the rail line connecting Adelaide with Darwin and Perth is repaired.
Food stocks running short
Luckily Neville, a keen fisho, had a fish or two in the freezer, along with some veggies and chicken schnitzels, on his Humpty Doo block.
Things were also getting tight for Foodbank NT manager Peter Chandler.
"We rely very heavily on the major supermarkets to get a lot of our food rescue. We've got trucks out now, and I expect those trucks to come back empty," he told ABC Radio Darwin mornings program last week.
"That does have an impact on the stock we have available for the charity sector and those people in need."
A donation of hampers containing fresh food got the charity through the worst point of the shortage.
All the solutions in one gulp
Growing and Using Local Produce (GULP) in the NT has been concerned about the Territory's food security for many years.
GULP co-founder Emma Lupin said the Territory's food supply was in a precarious position.
But the finger is not only pointed at government and big supermarkets.
"You've to be flexible and resilient, and it's so important to make food from what you've got and not only eat certain things," she said.
"The industrialisation of food has spoiled everyone.
"A lot of people up here don't tap into growing food in the tropical environment.
"They don't come from tropical areas and they don't know how to cook and grow tropical foods."
GULP runs programs and workshops teaching people to grow food and cook dishes by tapping into knowledge from Darwin's broad multicultural population.
Her advice for Territorians is to think outside the supermarkets.
"The produce that grows here — use some of it. Support local growers, farmers and markets," she said.
"Don't waste food.
"There are four plants anyone can grow: banana, cassava, paw paw, and jackfruit.
"You just plant them and water them and they give you a really good bang for your buck."
Food security is an issue often discussed in the NT, around the GULP table and at community gardens.
"There are some serious concerns," Emma said.
"If we didn't have Woollies and Coles bring us food, we'd be screwed.
Farmers need better supply chains
NT Farmers Association chief executive Paul Burke said the half-billion-dollar Territory agricultural sector produced plenty of food for the local market, but stronger supply chains were critical.
"Territory farmers grow an extremely wide range of fresh produce from mangoes, melons, pumpkins, citrus, okra and leafy vegetables," he said.
"Efficient supply chains are critical in ensuring that fresh produce can get to markets throughout the country."
NT Farmers is examining local supply chain networks to guide industry and government on how to prevent future disruptions.
Cheeky flex pays off
But through the shortage, Arnhem Land Progress Association's 27 stores mostly had shelves of fresh food, from local and Queensland suppliers.
Chief executive Alastair King was counting his lucky stars that they had "flexed-up" supply in preparation for the wet season.
"I've been in the Territory for 30 years. I've never seen anything like it," he told ABC Radio Darwin afternoons program.
The NT Health Department was contacted for comment.
